ALBANIA: Off the Beaten Path for American Tourists, Guest Post by Judith Steihm

Judith at the Milingona Hostel, Tirana, Albania

My friend Judith Stiehm is a professor of Political Science at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and author of numerous books including Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.  She is a true intrepid tourist and loves to travel to places off the tourist path.  Earlier this year she spent two weeks in Albania, traveling with a friend, staying in hostels, and taking local buses to get around. She has graciously allowed me to share a few excerpts from her fascinating blog about the trip.  For a full report, go to www.judithandalbania.blogspot.com .

June 16  The Milingona Hostel in Tirana sits behind stores on a busy street, behind a locked gate with a noisy dog and up three flights of stairs but is decorated with cheery murals, some painted by guests. Albania has a population under 4 million.  It is about the size of Maryland and has fine beaches and mountains up to 9,000 feet. Albania is the poorest European country, but you can drink the water and people--dressed in drab and incoherent clothing--are chatting on iphones.

Tirana Square

Hoxha Museum

Mention must be made of the giant marble pyramid designed as a Hoxha museum. (Communists, led by French teacher Enver Hoxha  created the People's Republic of Albania in 1946.) The marble is now gone and the pyramid is covered with graffiti, but daring souls climb its exterior. Mention must also be made of the many circular bunkers (800,000) which dot the landscape. Designed to withstand the weight of a tank they are too sturdy to easily demolish.

June 18  I present a lecture for the American Embassy on "Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize",  Afterwards, two young professors from Vitrina University whisk us away to visit their 10 year old campus with 7,000 students.  Ten attend lunch with the Rector--all sit silently and don't even eat while Mollie and I chat with the founder who because of politics was not allowed to attend university--so at age 37 he founded this one.

June 19 Now in Shkodra at hostel called Mi Casa Es Tu Casa, three hours away by bus. An old city of under 100,000 and flat with lots of bicycles. Scenery is green and lush; agriculture seems to flourish and there are many new, brightly painted houses--old ones are just left to deteriorate and are not torn down.

Mi Casa Hostel, Shkodra

At the top of a hill is the Bronze Age Castle of Rozafa.  Rozafa was the wife of one of three brothers whose hard work was undone each night by a spirit who said all would be well once a human had been sacrificed. The three wives brought the brothers lunch each day.  The brothers  agreed that whichever wife came first would be the sacrifice--but the older two told their wives not to come--and Rozafa agreed to be the sacrifice--walled up into the castle on the condition that a hole be left for her breast so she could feed her baby.  The tunnel to the castle still cries and drips her tears.

Komani Lake

June 20 Depart at 6 a.m. for 45 km drive to Komani Lake and a three hour dramatic cruise through a fjord. Fellow travelers: on roof of boat are two Slovak women on bicycles, two Belgians, two Dutch, two Italians, and me. Also aboard is a tour group of nine Israelis who let us ride in their bus to Valbona, our destination, 30 miles away.  There we walk two miles before finding a guest house on a path near the river where we can stay the night before embarking on a long and strenuous hike over the mountain. Our hosts, a widowed mother and daughter, enjoy our family pictures. Shoes off at the door--but they have TV and washers (no dryers) although electricity is irregular. It actually cuts out today--so we have candles and no hot water.  Cat is a mouser, who leaves one in the hall which Mollie steps on in bare feet.  After the soccer match is over a son appears--a soldier slated to get training at Fort Benning, Georgia next month.

Judith and Mollie were in Albania for another week, which included a side trip to Macedonia.  Go to Judith's blog for more of her report.  Here is her list of the 10 best and 10 worst things about the trip:

TEN WORST THINGS
1 Leg problem on 8 hour mountain hike
2. Mollie steps barefoot on a dead mouse
3. Squat outdoor toilet
4. Bathroom waste enters mountain stream people drink from
5. No shower available after 8 hour hike
6. Buildings left to rot, and trash left on ground
7  Mollie's hamburger in Orhid
8. Unemployed men  sitting in cafes all day long
9. Raucous noise outside hotel window
10. Running to catch flight to LA

TEN BEST THINGS
1.Lunch at Vitrana University
2.Taking bets on my age by soldier going to Fort Benning and his family
3. Standing at top of Thetsi Pass
4. Tour of icons with guide in Korca
5. Hotel balconies in Berat and Tirana
6. Berat promenade
7. People eager to help
8. Watching World Cup most nights
9. Shopkeeper who cried over her Susan B Anthony dollar
10. Folk festival in Ohrid

Berat, Albania